Wore this shirt everyday all day of my recent seven day bike tour. No stank. Comfy and cool during several days of many miles in 90 degrees. Dries up long before the cool of night sets in. In fact, most of the time it stays dry while you sweat! Fun Fact: My brothers and I had ours embroidered for the Tour de Farce. Pencil-necks of the world; this is our jersey!

If you are under 6 foot or so and smell so bad that nobody wants to get near you; This is your tent. It's snug for two and palatial for one. Bonus feature: The pole sections are shorter than most and pack wherever you like! They even fit atop a touring bike rear rack without sticking out the back. See my little brother here: http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb202/ablejack3/biking/Tour%20de%20Farce/100_0969-1.jpg

The red (MSR) pole sleeve contains poles for a Henry Shires Cloudburst 2, The nifty little grey bag is the HiLight poles. Neat and light. By the way; That's an Ibex Ridgeline T-shirt which has had it's wicking performance compromised by our tour embroidery backing (worth it for impressing the babies) . This shot was taken on day seven of the tour with no rain and temps in the nineties. Get one. The jersey had not been washed and didn't reek. If your still reading, the green bike in the back is my sexy Kogswell.

Packs incredibly small and lightweight. Very reasonably priced too. I will use this pad on every summery trip less than seven nights. I'm still afraid I'll "pop" it on an extended or cold trip and spend too many nights on the ground. Haven't yet though. By the way I use the mummy not rectangle version. My single gripe is an odd one. This pad comes with the sturdy reliable screw valve you may be used to with a thermarest pad. While this is a great valve, You have to blow it up and get your moist breff all up in it. I wanted to be able to fill it with an adapter on my frame pump, but I am excited to see the science experiment that's bound to occur through the clearview material!

I wish they made these shoes without the stupid gore-tex lining. Gore-tex nullifies the benefits of nylon mesh uppers. Your shoe will no longer breathe or dry out unlike Gore's claims. Your feet will sweat and stay wet. It is also the weakest part of any shoe. Its "waterproof" only 'til you step in up to your ankle and will be compromised in less than a month where your foot bends. Once water gets in, you stay wet all day. (Gore-tex is also redundant and suffocating with leather shoes) Gore-tex also weighs more than no gore-tex, making you more tired and less agile, and more likely to fall. Its too "crunchy", heavy, and expensive for outerwear. On its behalf, its good foul weather gear for sailing in cold seas. I happily hiked the AT with no Gore-tex (and no "fleece" which is also garbage). Cool looking shoe though. Pardon my ranting, but I don't like that stuff.